UK:GSW Chapter 371 – Orochi-Kabuto: Lord Orochimaru, You're Not Dead?!
Regarding the over-the-top developments in the "Chronicles of My Bromance, My Wife, Our Father-Daughter Relationship, and the Uninvited Fiancé Incident," a senior-citizen-level family ethics drama, Uchiha Kei did not maintain continuous attention. After tossing the setting materials for "Uzumaki Kenshin" to Uchiha Madara to look over, he shifted his focus to other matters.
This was because the current Uchiha Madara was no longer the same as before. Even if he was extremely displeased with the red-haired, blond-tinged "Uzumaki Kenshin," he would not lay a hand on him. After all, doing so would surely make Muzi sad, pained, and distressed—and that was something Uchiha Madara could not allow.
So when he learned the classic setup that "Uzumaki Kenshin" was an orphan of the Uzumaki Clan found by the Hidden Leaf, the only male of his clan and thus given special care and secret training, now strong and outstanding, and officially engaged to Muzi after years of deepening affection, Uchiha Madara suppressed his urge to annihilate Kenshin and instead planned to examine him through an illusion game.
If Kenshin was not a good match, then Muzi had to know his true face—Madara absolutely would not let Muzi's happiness be ruined by him.
Thus, a battle of wits between the elderly was set in motion, though it would take a long time to reach a conclusion.
Uchiha Kei planned to record the process, and when the time was right, edit it into a drama for slow savoring.
For now, Uchiha Kei projected his primary consciousness into his clone in Ninja World No. 2.
At this moment, in the Hidden Leaf of World No. 2, the third game arcade had opened, drawing more of the Leaf's ninja clans into its expansion. While illusion games became a craze in the Leaf, many merchants came to purchase stock to sell elsewhere.
Additionally, Leaf No. 2 actively promoted the illusion games to the nobles and daimyos of the Land of Fire, encouraging them to spread it to other nations.
After experiencing the joy of the illusion games, these nobles and daimyos quickly became addicted, turning into loyal fans.
In a short time, the illusion game business of Leaf No. 2 was booming. In terms of outward expansion speed, it was even faster than in the main world.
This was natural—while Leaf No. 2 wasn't as strong as main world Leaf, its world had developed for over twenty years, producing inventions that made the ninja world's tech tree seem ridiculously advanced.
For example, communication methods—walkie-talkies were already widespread, and merchants had their own means of communication. Once they confirmed the value of the illusion game, they eagerly rushed to the Leaf.
What's more, in the main world, the ninja world was on the brink of the Great Ninja War, with conflicts and security issues everywhere, making travel risky for merchants. But in World No. 2, there were no signs of a major war—only the Akatsuki causing trouble far away, which most merchants and nobles knew nothing about. Life was peaceful and prosperous.
Thus, outward sales of the illusion games proceeded smoothly. Large quantities were shipped, and Leaf No. 2 actively cooperated with merchants to jointly cultivate a thriving arcade culture unique to this world.
This was different from the main world.
In the main world, the Leaf Game Merchants' Association relied on the power of the Uchiha Clan—the Leaf's premier clan—drawing in all major ninja clans. Leaf, as the absolute hegemon, could guarantee smooth promotion abroad.
But Leaf No. 2 lacked the Uchiha. The Hatake name was known, but far less influential. Though they formed a profit group, they couldn't handle the core production of game scrolls, relying entirely on imports from the main world. This meant they could not grow as big and strong, instead functioning more as agents in cooperation with others.
Still, this agency role wasn't sustained by sacrificing Leaf No. 2's own interests. Rather, it leveraged the rest of the ninja world's resources to enrich Leaf No. 2—so its people's lives would still keep improving.
For now, Leaf No. 2's task was simply to be an excellent exclusive distributor of illusion games.
Looking at the system data on sales, Uchiha Kei nodded in satisfaction—the sales volume was impressive. If he could release a new game soon, completing the system's task should be no problem.
A new game was needed because only games released after a task was generated could count toward completion.
Since the latest main quest appeared, the games for sale abroad were all online titles, and the network system hadn't yet rolled out in World No. 2, so they weren't released there. Thus, Kei could only make a new game—
And it had to be single-player or small-group multiplayer.
Without hesitation, Kei decided on a single-player game. This time, he would go big—develop it to the standard of a AAA title.
Previous games were grand thanks to the unique illusion game platform, easily crushing AAA titles in visuals and immersion. But stripped of the platform, most were small-scale productions. Even Ultimate Ninja Storm and Ninja World War were merely "good-quality" works, not true AAA productions.
Now, Kei felt it was time to let the ninja world experience the ultimate thrill of a top-tier game.
Of course, making such a game would take time—even with the mental network, a one-man creation still required effort.
Fortunately, Kei had time. In fact, he'd already started a new game before—just without intending it to be AAA. Now, he would super-upgrade it. For the illusion game platform, that was no problem.
And so, Kei's AAA project began.
On this day, Researcher Orochimaru brought No. 2 Orochimaru into World No. 2, beginning their tour to recover Orochimaru's soul fragments and find Kabuto Yakushi.
Minato Namikaze, master of the Flying Raijin Jutsu, was called to assist with transport, greatly speeding up the trip.
These days, Minato hadn't just been staying in Leaf No. 2—he'd been zipping across the world, leaving Flying Raijin markers at chosen locations. This ensured instant travel to key points, drastically cutting long-distance time and cost.
Now, many key nodes in World No. 2 bore Minato's markers.
For example, to aid the two Orochimarus this time—although Minato's coordinates were still some distance from the actual destination, teleporting there greatly reduced the walking distance and time, and sometimes he could help in other ways.
Like with the Cursed Mark on Anko Mitarashi in Leaf No. 2, which contained a long-preserved soul fragment of Orochimaru—the true core of his revival in the original story—Minato helped by knocking Anko unconscious during the extraction, preventing her from alerting other Leaf shinobi and causing trouble.
After all, Orochimaru No. 2 had caused far too much chaos here—he was an S-rank wanted criminal. Being spotted would bring disaster.
Though Minato disliked Orochimaru No. 2, his political maturity told him that such a person had great research value. Since he was now under their control, they should maximize his usefulness—after all, the plan was to keep him working under Researcher Orochimaru as a dedicated research workhorse.
In just one day, Orochimaru No. 2 recovered all his soul fragments and also reclaimed several secret bases.
Some bases had already been looted—after Orochimaru's death, Sasuke had freed his subordinates, and naturally some took the opportunity to plunder his legacy.
The final target was Kabuto Yakushi.
This wasn't because he was hardest to deal with—he was simply the hardest to find.
Even with White Zetsu's ability, finding him was difficult, especially since in this world, many White Zetsu had not yet been recruited to the loyalist side.
Still, they eventually located him. Based on Kei's intel, Kabuto was heading for Ryuchi Cave, so they stationed White Zetsu there to watch for him.
That day, the two Orochimarus arrived early outside Ryuchi Cave—where they saw Kabuto limping toward them.
Kabuto wore a cloak that hid his body, with the exposed skin covered in white scales. His eyes were serpentine, identical to Orochimaru's, making him look neither fully human nor fully beast.
In this form, fans of the Hokage series would call him "Orochi-Kabuto."
Upon seeing the two Orochimarus, Orochimaru No. 2 smirked darkly, while Researcher Orochimaru observed with curiosity.
Kabuto's eyes widened beneath his glasses, his body trembling uncontrollably. His knees gave way as he collapsed to the ground, voice shaking:
"Im-Impossible… L-Lord Orochimaru… y-you're not dead?!"
Orochimaru No. 2 extended his tongue with a raspy chuckle:
"Kabuto, you've followed me for so long—why would you think I'd die so easily at Sasuke's hands? My pursuit of immortality is not something so shallow."
The implication: the most unkillable man in the ninja world doesn't die that easily.
Kabuto believed him—he knew all too well how terrifying Orochimaru was. That was why, after Orochimaru's death, he was devastated, lost all purpose, and used immature techniques to merge with Orochimaru's remains in a bid to become the new Orochimaru.
Researcher Orochimaru instantly saw that Kabuto's body was unstable—ravaged by Orochimaru's cells. Left unchecked, he'd eventually die. His kneeling wasn't just reverence—it was partly because his body was too weakened to stand.
As Kei had said, Kabuto's condition could only be stabilized through Ryuchi Cave's Sage Art.
Of course, for Researcher Orochimaru, this was no difficulty. Even Orochimaru No. 2 could do it—as the original source of Kabuto's white snake cells, he could control them.
Sure enough, Orochimaru No. 2 stepped forward and placed his hand on Kabuto's shoulder.
Instantly, the parts of Kabuto belonging to Orochimaru No. 2 were drawn out, making Kabuto scream in pain and convulse violently.
Once the extraction was complete, Orochimaru No. 2 retracted his hand, his soul more complete. Kabuto, though exhausted and collapsed on the ground, soon realized the constant pain was gone—his body felt lighter than it had in ages.
Though he still bore many white snake traits, he was no longer on the verge of collapse.
Realizing this, Kabuto quickly rose and knelt on one knee before Orochimaru No. 2:
"Thank you for your help, Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru No. 2 chuckled:
"Kabuto, you truly have great perseverance and talent—you are a child I value highly. From here on, both I and… the other me… will need your assistance."
At this, Kabuto glanced toward the other Orochimaru, whose demeanor was completely different from the one he knew. The shrewd man said nothing, simply kneeling respectfully and pledging to follow Orochimaru's arrangements.
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